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August 25, 2005

Patriotic Pedaling

Bush ESPN, that unlikeliest of sustainabilty sources, posted a terrific article recently. Author Jim Caple points out that progressives should stop poking fun at President Bush's rather obsessive bicycling--a habit that recently included a ride with Lance Armstrong. Instead, we should hope he goes "much, much further."

After all, the Texas duo--Bush and Armstrong--should be poster children for a national call to bicycling as alternative to driving and a sensible way to conserve oil.

Caple breaks it down this way:

Think about it this way. The average American drives 12,000 or so miles per year. If we rode our bikes just 10 miles per week... that would cut use by 500 miles, or around 4 percent. Because cars and SUVs account for 40 percent of U.S. oil use, that could reduce the country's oil consumption by 1.6 percent. That doesn't sound like much, but it's roughly the equivalent to 100 million barrels. That's not going to end our reliance on foreign oil but at least it would be a start in that direction.

Now, if only Bush would seize the opportunity to publicly ask, as Caple puts it,

What's a better show of real patriotism -- cutting foreign oil consumption by occasionally riding a bike or slapping a flag sticker on your SUV that gets 11 miles to the gallon?

Posted by Eric de Place | Permalink

Comments

The President Bicycles: what does it mean?

The novelist H.G. Wells said that he felt hope for the human race whenever he saw an adult on a bicycle. Our current president is now notorious in his love of bicycling, even if he falls off once in awhile. What does this mean for national transportation policy? If he rides enough (or some wags might say, if he falls enough), will his administration see the bicycle as the machine of liberation, energy independence and obesity slayer that it can be?

Not being privy either to the mind of George Bush nor to the inside workings of the ruling party I can only guess. I would like to be like Mr. Wells, optimistically hoping that by hopping on a bike and discovering the world under his own power, Mr. Bush will experience the epiphany that I did when I realized that I didn’t need a car and all its burdens in order to live a full and fun life. I could actually do what I had to do, and have fun and save money while I was doing it.

The other, more cynical side of me tells my joyous, bicycle zealot self that I am fooling myself. After all, Bush rides on trails on his own (or other’s) private ranches. No traffic tussling for him. He just has to look out for all those Secret Service guys and the odd root and rock. So, he won’t have any opportunity to see the bicycle as a transportation tool, one that we need to use more in crafting sustainable cities. He also cycles solely for the exercise. Sorry, guys and gals in Spandex™, but the bicycle’s real value is in the day to day, mundane tasks of getting to the store, school and the job. Until he rides into Crawford for a latté or a replacement chain for his chain saw I doubt he will think of his expensive steed as anything but a toy.
Of course, it may just be a class thing. Remember when John Kerry rode through town on his $5000 bike clad in racing colors and Spandex™? He probably hasn’t hopped on his bike to ride to work since he was in college either.

Posted by: rex Burkholder | Aug 31, 2005 5:26:18 PM